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Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Well, looks like I took a little impromptu week off from blogging, but to be honest I needed it! Last week I helped coordinate my kids' school Bingo Night and so my time and energy was consumed with planning and preparation for that! It was a huge hit by the way...and I am already excited for next year to see how I can make it better!

But, now onto all things Stampin' Up!! Did you know today is THE DAY?! It's Sale-A-Bration time! If you would like to view the Sale-A-Bration brochure online click HERE. I can also send you a complimentary copy if you want to contact me with your address!! Sale-A-Bration ends March 31st, so you will have a couple of months to get a few new goodies and spread out your purchases.

Oh, and Sale-A-Bration is one of the best times to join the Stampin' Up! family because they always have an exciting promotion to offer! In fact, it was 5 years ago that I joined Stampin' Up! during Sale-A-Bration! Boy, how time flies!! Get $150 in product for only $99! That's an extra $25 free. Plus, if you join Stampin' Up! before June 30th and are interested in attending Convention in Salt Lake City July 17-19...your registration fee will be waived!! That's a $280 savings!! Contact me today for more information!

Friday, January 17, 2014

Seriously...how can a week go by so quickly?! I haven't blogged much this week (sorry about that!), but before the weekend starts, I wanted to share with you a birthday card I created for last night's card making night. I host a get together every month (always the Third Thursday) where my customers can come create 4 cards for $10. It's always such a fun evening and last night wasn't any different...it was a packed house! Always a good problem to have! ;)

The 4 cards we created can be found HERE, HERE, and HERE. I decided to try to go a little more masculine with my fourth card since the others had pinks and flowers and butterflies and such. I couldn't help but be drawn towards the Retro Fresh DSP in the Occasions Catalog...and the Banner Framelits, of course!

And, because I wasn't able to stretch some of the same patterns of DSP from the pack (or the ribbon) for all 20+ guests to use, I made a second variation that the guests could create using a different background, sentiment, and twine. I like giving them options so they can make the card look just like they want it to!

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Thank you so much for joining us for our January Stylin' Stampin'
Squad Blog Hop! Love is in the air and our talented group of design
team members have a whole lotta love goin' on as we are excited to be
sharing some NEW Occasions Catalog goodies and some Valentine's Day
projects with you this month! As you hop along, please be sure to comment and show some love on every blog! We are always excited to hear from our followers!

You
should have just left stop number 16 on the Stylin’
Stampin’ Squad blog hop – Tonya at Stampin' with Tonya.
If so, you are in the right spot. If a link doesn’t work or you get off
track, you will find the full blog hop lineup below.

Deciding whether or not to create something with my new products or choose a Valentine's theme was an easy decision for me! I was just too excited about playing more with my new Occasions Catalog goodies!! Although I haven't ordered much yet, I am sure having fun playing with what I do have!

My absolute favorite is the Fresh Prints Paper Stack! It is 48 sheets of 4-1/2" x 6-1/2" double-sided paper (you get 4 pieces of 12 designs). The colors are Coastal Cabana, Crumb Cake, and Real Red. It is such a great color combo and there are so many fun prints to choose from. I just knew this was going to be my inspiration for my project for the hop! I also had ordered the Perfect Pennants stamp set and coordinating Banners Framelits as a bundle, so somehow these were also going to be a part of my project...one way or another!

I decided it would be fun to make a set of notecards...but my one stipulation was that they had to be quick and easy!Whisper White Notecards come in a package of 20 (including envelopes). They are a tad smaller than the kind of cards I normally make (notecards measure 3-1/2" x 5"). I decided that I would choose 10 different prints from the Fresh Prints Paper Stack and create 5 different card designs (making 2 of each design). Here are the designs I came up with. The notecards even come pre-scored, so all you have to do is fold and go! I told you...quick and easy, right?!

I kept the designs super simple and just let the paper do most of the talking! All of the sentiments are found in the Perfect Pennants stamp set with the exception of the "thanks" on the card with the star.

I wanted a place I could put all of these notecards...and possibly give as a gift! I took one of our full wood mount cases and created a cover I could slip in the front. This sentiment comes from the same Perfect Pennants stamp set as shown above and I really think it's the best motto for me this year as I am learning to NOT reach for perfectionism, but to simply enjoy the journey...in life and in my creativity!

Tucked inside are 10 envelopes and 10 notecards ready to use at a moment's notice!

And, just one more reminder...for me AND you!

Thank you so much for hopping along today! To continue on the hop, click on the next button and it will take you back up to stop 1 to visit Anastasia at Stampin' Blondie. Happy hopping! Hope you come back to visit my blog again soon...you're always welcome here!

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

This Christmas I took part in a "Secret Santa" swap with the Stylin' Stampin' Squad. We are a group of Stampin' Up! demonstrators who host a monthly blog hop. We have our own little Facebook group page and I have had such a fun time getting to know these ladies and being inspired by them!! Many of us from this group even started our own little blog called Stylin' Stampin' INKspiration and if you are a regular visitor to my blog, you have seen me post many times of things I have designed for this blog. Being a part of the design team has really motivated me to blog more often!

I wanted to share the gifts I gave to my Secret Santa, Annie Lee of Love Me Cards. We were to send 3 Christmas cards each week during the month of December and then a box of goodies at the end of December. Well, my poor recipient had to wait a little longer than she probably had expected!! I was behind a little bit on my cards, so I sent two at once and then she really had to wait for my package to arrive...after the New Year! She assured me that it was worth the wait, which was so sweet of her! I just got so swamped with family, Christmas, sickness, etc. I guess that's true life these days!! Annie posted on her blog the first two cards I sent her (forgot to take pics before I mailed them off...oops!) Both of these cards were CASED, but ones that I had pinned and really wanted to re-create because they were such fabulous designs!

And, now for the package of goodies...

This was my third "Christmas" card I was supposed to send. Since I was so overdue, I decided I would make her last card an everyday occasions card using some new goodies from the Occasions Catalog. This one uses the new Perfect Pennants stamp set, Watercolor Wonder DSP, and Banner Framelits!

Tucked inside this chevron printed bag are Kit Kat candy bars...Annie's favorite! I simply folded the bag over on the back, tied it with the 1/8" silver trim (still available in the Occasions Catalog) and added a tag from the Tag a Bag accessory kit. I also added a couple of silver glimmer stars for fun! I really wanted the saying to say "you can never have too much chocolate", but I guess happy = chocolate, right?! ;)

This gift I was a little worried would explode during shipping, but I put it in a Ziploc bag just in case. I had created a tag for some Christmas soap last month during the blog hop and thought it would be fun to match a tag with the Sugar Vanilla Wish Bath & Body Soap. I stamped a "new year" sentiment (from Petite Pairs) instead of Christmas since we were already passed. I just love that Champagne Glimmer Paper! It is paired with Coastal Cabana and I used some Crumb Cake ribbon as an accent.

Lastly, I made Annie a gift card holder to hold a Starbucks gift card! I knew she loved Starbucks, so I thought it would round out the gift nicely! The gift card design was something I had seen online somewhere, but I can't seem to find the original post I was inspired by! If I do, I'll come back to link it up. The belly band with the snowflake slides over it when closed.

I hope to be able to share my cards and Secret Santa gift that I {will} receive very soon!! And, please come back tomorrow for the SSS January Blog Hop! We'll be showcasing some Valentine's Day projects and cards, as well as some of us are going to share some new goodies from the Occasions Catalog! You won't want to miss it!

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Last night was card night at my mother-in-law's ~ 4 cards for $10. My 7-year old daughter was able to come with me because she is still on Winter Break (she doesn't go back to school until Wednesday) and she was SO EXCITED to make cards with grandma's friends...and of course to stay up late!! I wish I had video of her hostess skills. She was too cute welcoming the guests, introducing herself, passing out the card kits, and even helping a fellow 7-year old with the tips and tricks of stamping. Stampin' Up! demonstrator in the making, I tell ya!

Here she is busy at work...

For one of the cards we made, I used the Friday Mashup sketch as inspiration. I chose to leave off the banner only because I had already created another card design with a banner (this one I posted last week) and didn't want to go overboard with banner flags...even though I love them! I used the *new* DSP from the Occasions Catalog called Watercolor Wonder. I had a variety of sentiments for the stampers to choose from and the colors used are Island Indigo, Daffodil Delight, Gumball Green, and Calypso Coral. I added just a touch of bling on the flower and some Gumball Green ribbon, but overall kept it fairly simple.

Come on back this Thursday for the Stylin' Stampin' Squad Blog Hop!! We'll be showcasing Valentine's Day projects/Occasions Catalog goodies!

Monday, January 6, 2014

I have had an awesome 6 months so far being a part of the design team on the Stylin' Stampin' INKspiration blog and I look forward to continuing to create and be inspired with a great group of designers!! As we begin a new year, we are all excited to share some fun ideas with you, so I hope that you will make it a regular stop in your blog hopping to come on by for a visit. We post 5 days a week, so there's always something INKspiring to look at!

If you love a good challenge, we look forward to having you come play along during the first three Mondays of the month...

The card I created for this color challenge is a CASE from Kaitlyn at Create with Kaitlyn. We will be using this card design tonight at my mother-in-law's card night she hosts on a monthly basis. I chose to keep my design a little simpler than Kaitlyn's to work better with the stampers I will be with tonight. I skipped the paper piercing around the edge (which I do love on her card, though!) and chose to use pearls instead of buttons as I didn't have that many to go around for the stampers to use. Thanks Kaitlyn for the inspiration!

I hope you'll come on by the SSINK blog to join us! You'll have until Sunday, January 12th at noon to link up your card for this color challenge. We'll be showcasing some of the top choices next Monday, so maybe YOU can be showcased on the blog. How fun would that be?!

Friday, January 3, 2014

It's Framelits Friday at SS INKspiration!! For today's card I used the Labels Collection Framelit Dies. I just love how they outline each other so perfectly...and with so many different sizes, too! I chose to keep my card simple and let the sentiment and background paper do the talking. To create the different colors on the image, I used markers and colored the stamp before inking up the paper.

Notice anything new on today's card?! The "Make a Wish" is from the *new* Perfect Pennants stamp set found in the 2014 Occasions Catalog which debuts TODAY! The background paper is also from the new catalog. It's called Retro Fresh. Such a fun color combo of Baked Brown Sugar, Tangerine Tango, Coastal Cabana, and So Saffron. I finished off the card by paper piercing the largest outline using the Festive Paper-Piercing Pack and the paper-piercing tool.

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Hello! Things have been a little quiet around here, haven't they? I've spent the last 2 weeks enjoying family, friends, the holiday season, and a little unexpected tummy bug sickness that lasted for a few days post-Christmas! But, I was able to spend an hour or so in my craft room yesterday blowing off the dust from my crafting supplies and found my NEW Occasions Mini Catalog goodies I ordered before Christmas! One of the {many} perks of being a demonstrator is that you get to order out of upcoming catalogs a little earlier before everyone else. I decided to be a "good girl" and kept my spending at a minimum...starting off with ordering all of the DSP options and choosing a stamp set/framelit bundle, oh and one embossing folder, too! I'm sure I'll order more down the line as I get inspired by all of the new products!

Thanks for coming back to take a little peek at my card today! I hope that you all had a beautifully blessed holiday season with your loved ones and I am excited for all of the creative inspiration we have ahead of us as we begin a new year!!

Head on over to visit more of the Stylin' Stampin' INKspiration design team to see what other Occasions Mini Catalog products they are showcasing. The catalog debuts TOMORROW, so let me know if you want one mailed to you ~ complimentary, of course!